Oregon football's Week 11 has them up against a reeling USC Trojans team on Saturday in front of what should be a lively Autzen Stadium crowd. This will be the first time the Ducks and Trojans have met up since 2020 when Oregon won 31-24. The Ducks have won four out of the last five contests.
This will be No. 6 Oregon and USC's final meeting as Pac-12 members before both move to the Big Ten next season. With that said, this is a game that has massive Pac-12 Championship aspirations and, therefore, College Football Playoff ones as well, with a win keeping Oregon football well in the hunt to make it into the top-4.
However, this matchup doesn't have nearly the value it once did as most thought earlier in the season when USC football was still ranked in the top-10. Now they're not ranked at all after their 52-42 loss to Washington last week. But this still could be an exciting game, having once again two top-tier quarterbacks in college football going head-to-head with one another in Oregon's Bo Nix and USC's Caleb Williams.
Since the Ducks' only loss to Washington, they've stayed the course and haven't lost. They proved their mettle against a ranked Utah team on the road a couple weeks ago, so how will they fare against a much better offense at home in USC? Let's get into some Oregon football Week 11 predictions.
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Oregon football will score at least 40 points on USC football
Offense is the only thing that's keeping USC in games, and that's largely due to Caleb Williams, who, honestly has probably been asked way too much of by head coach Lincoln Riley. And now with the firing of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch after last week's loss in which the Trojans' defense gave up 52 points, who knows what to expect from USC defensively.
USC's defense is averaging giving up a 118th best 34.5 points per game, according to Team Rankings. But the offense is averaging 45.5 points per game, ranked 1st in college football. This has the capabilities to be similar to last week's Washington game that was nothing but a display of high-powered offenses.
However, the Ducks have a much better defense than Washington. They're allowing a 12th best 17.1 points per game. Oregon may not have to score 50-plus like Washington did against USC, but they'll probably still have to score 40-plus.
Oregon's defense picks off Caleb Williams twice
Caleb Williams hasn't thrown an interception since the Notre Dame game where he threw three. He only has four on the season, with the other one coming during the Colorado game. Oregon's defense has eight interceptions this season.
This will be the latest defensive test for Williams and USC football, including against a defensive front that has made 28 sacks, per Fox Sports stats. Williams has been sacked 27 times this season, averaging nearly three a game. This could be another matchup where the USC offensive line fails Williams and forces him to make errant throws.
Bucky Irving will rush for 150 yards and at least two touchdowns
Normally, this would be a spot for Bo Nix and how much he was going to throw against this USC defense. And while that still may be true, Bucky Irving could be the highlight of this matchup. Last week against Washington, USC allowed 316 yards rushing, with 256 of that coming from Dillon Johnson, to go along with his four touchdowns.
Running the ball is not even Washington's strong suit, but Oregon can definitely run the ball effectively, especially with Irving, who has been their lead rusher in all but two games this season. He'll get his touches, yards, and touchdowns in this game, and then some.
Oregon football beats USC football
This feels like another showcase matchup for Dan Lanning and his Ducks' team. He made an emphasis on the Colorado game and put his team in the spotlight. Although he was perhaps too aggressive against Washington, he can keep hope alive that Oregon can still make the playoff by taking out the early preseason favorite USC and Williams.
Lanning seems to love having his team in these types of situations. Look for him and Oregon football to make an example out of this USC football team, winning 48-35.
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